By Jamie Alcaparras
Eight students at the University of Louisville and one Louisville community member were selected for a scholarship program that will carry on Muhammad Ali’s legacy of bringing peace and justice to nearby neighborhoods and around the world.
“Muhammad Ali wanted to inspire young people in Louisville to make a difference in their community,” said Alvin Herring, the executive director of the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of Louisville.
Directed by the Ali Institute, the two-year scholarship program is designed to engage students in the education and practice of peace and justice.
A stipend of $1,000 per year will be given to scholars, plus opportunities to travel nationally and internationally. Current scholar MariaTeresa de la Cruz, a junior majoring in political science and justice administration, said the program allowed her to spend two weeks over seas last summer.
“As a scholar, I had the opportunity to travel to Liverpool and Manchester [England], Paris, and Senegal [Africa] in one summer,” Cruz said.
Scholars will attend seminars and conferences, where they will be taught how to research underlying issues in a given community. Emphasis will be placed on understanding and addressing social conditions that impact a community.
Scholars will then choose an area of expertise in which they will take on a personal service project. Cruz said she chose to work with underprivileged children this year.
“They will go out into the community, work with organizations who are working toward social justice,” said Stacy Bailey-Ndiaye, the associate director of the Ali Institute.
Academic stability is crucial in maintaining scholar status in the program. Scholars must maintain a 3.0 GPA throughout the two-year contract and are expected to dedicate five to ten hours per week to the program, including office hours.
Although Muhammad Ali is not directly involved in the program, Ali did promote the establishment of the Ali Institute four years ago. Ali and his family joined the university and the city of Louisville to create the Ali Center that is currently downtown and the Ali Institute located in the U of L Ekstrom Library.
The nine Ali Scholars:-Lecia Brown, freshman biochemistry and molecular biology major-Robert Drane, sophomore psychology and philosophy major-On’Draya Green, freshman biology major-Felicia Hogan, freshman biology major-Colin Ogilvie, sophomore -Tiffany Miller, junior sociology major-Rosie Washington, junior political science major-Tytianna Wells, sophomore English and Pan-African Studies major-Sayheed Asante, an Ali Street Scholar
